ABOUT THE PROJECT
LOGLINE
In a world where Black people are subject to the myths of the Western imagination, the embrace of the fantastic takes on a singular resonance, as a means to challenge the status quo and explore the possibilities of Black being.
SYNOPSIS
IN THE BLACK FANTASTIC is an artistic documentary exploring how myth, fantasy and speculative fiction are used by Black artists to reframe and reimagine the racialized everyday.
At its center is visionary writer and curator Ekow Eshun, on a quest to discover Black freedom. What does it look like to live unconstrained in a world often hostile to Black presence? How does the embrace of myth and speculative fiction lead to liberation?
Exploring these questions with Eshun are some of the world’s foremost Black artists and thinkers, filmed on locations in America, Europe and Africa. Participants include internationally acclaimed artists Arthur Jafa, Ellen Gallagher, Wangechi Mutu and Tavares Strachan, and award-winning authors and scholars such as Marlon James, Christina Sharpe, and Tina Campt.
IN THE BLACK FANTASTIC is directed by acclaimed poet, artist and filmmaker Julianknxx, who weaves the personal and the political, the mythic and the magic realist, into a dazzling invocation of the Black imaginary.
Throughout the film, the fantastic and dreamlike is invoked as an ethic of resistance to the status quo. Past and present intertwine. History and fable mix together. Searching and lyrical in tone, the film is itself a thrilling articulation of the Black fantastic at its most wildly imaginative, artistically ambitious, and politically urgent.
PROJECT TYPE Documentary Feature
DIRECTOR Julianknxx
SCREENWRITER Ekow Eshun
PRODUCER Debo Amon
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER Ekow Eshun, Julianknxx, Debo Amon, Jenny Berglund, Patrick Debeau, Arianna Nourse, Claude Grunitzky
The Film Collaborative (TFC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to providing programs and services for independent filmmakers. TFC’s federal tax ID number is 32-0295081. All donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.
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